To win a free copy of England Exchange, you need to: - post in this thread - before December 26th, 2017 - In your post: What country would you like to go to as an exchange student? (Or wish that you had been to, if you're too old to be a student anymore.) Why does that country interest you? What sort of things would you like to do while you were there? It does not have to be realistic, it can be wacky fantasy hijinks if you like.

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The number of winners will depend on how many people enter.

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I would love to study in Japan. My best friend moved there, and I miss him dearly, but I just don't have the job skills that would qualify me for immigration. At least by becoming a student, I'd be able to stay in Japan—and be close to him—for a few years.

Another reason I want to study in Japan is so I can improve my Japanese. There's only so much I can do in an English-speaking country. My listening comprehension remains my worst skill; I can't even order food because I have no idea what restaurant employees are saying back to me. It's embarrassing. I want to immerse myself in a Japanese-speaking environment so I can learn the language more effectively. There's so much to the language I never got in textbooks, websites, or class studies.

My main motivation for being in Japan is to be close to my best friend, so doing things is a distant, secondary concern. I suppose I could go to the Ghibli Museum and the Doraemon Museum (well, okay, it's technically the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum) whenever I felt like it, which would be nice. I could make a semi-annual pilgrimage to Oarai, Ibaraki, to pay homage to "Girls und Panzer." (The pork cutlet at Cook Fan, a real-life restaurant featured in the show, is even better than it looks in the show. The unlimited rice is really nice, too.) If I worked up the courage, I could even take a trip to the place that inspired the little town in "Your Name." But even if I get bored of everything, I can always call up my best friend and hang out with him. That's better than any entertainment money can buy.

There are a few things I'm worried about, though. One, money. I have no idea whether I'd be able to pay for my living expenses or whether I'd even have enough left over for entertainment. Two, COCKROACHES. Those things are FREAKY. I hear they're not quite as bad as the Hong Kong variety, but they still look just as nasty.

If I could do something fanciful, it'd be to get really good at science so I can engineer an extremely deadly and communicable bioweapon that targets only cockroaches. I don't care if there's a chance the bioweapon could kill humans, as well. I hate cockroaches *that* much. While I was at it, I'd make another extremely deadly and communicable bioweapon that targets only silverfish, as well.

Come to think of it, there's one other thing that would worry me. It's all those mock missile attacks from North Korea. I'm pretty worried for my friends already; if I lived there, I'd have to worry for me, as well. I really hope these mock attacks won't become real.

Well...okay, there's one last reason I want to study in Japan. There's a girl I like. After she helped me get through a really bad situation, I fell in love with her. Based on my interactions with her, though, I've concluded she doesn't like me back. But hope never dies, even when you wish it would. There's a renegade part of my mind that persists in believing I can somehow win her heart over time, especially if I lived in Japan myself. But that's a fantasy that's even less realistic than developing a bioweapon against cockroaches and silverfish.

If I could be an exchange student, I'd like to go to Ireland. (While I'm actually too old to be a traditional exchange student, I am still in graduate school, so maybe I could work with someone at a university there somehow!) I went on a trip there almost a year ago now, and I loved it. First of all, I was there in February, and it wasn't even that cold! I've spent my whole life in Canada. I'm used to tons of snow here throughout all the winter months. In Ireland in February it was just a little chilly and sometimes it rained a bit. That's actually my favourite kind of weather - I like just needing to wear a jacket but not being too worried about anything else.

I spent a few days during that trip in Dublin and it struck me as a lovely place to live. There were so many unique stores and restaurants, and so many buildings that had really interesting histories. I also loved that the River Liffey just ran straight through downtown. I think it would be great to live in that area and just stroll across the river on your way to work or to see a friend. I did a lot of cool things there, but my favourite was probably just getting some fish and chips and sitting and eating them by the river, taking in the atmosphere of the city. My trip unfortunately ended up getting cut short, though, and I missed out on some other things I wanted to do. There was a really cool-sounding ghost tour in Dublin I never got around to, and I had also planned to go to some nice towns in the south like Killarney, which has a Lord of the Rings themed pub that sounded awesome. I hope that I could explore the country more if I was on exchange there for a while!

I would've wanted to go to Spain or Japan. I've always been really fascinated by both of the cultures, and I started learning Japanese a few months ago. I've had more than 3 years of Spanish lessons though, as well as working with a lot of people who spoke primarily (and in some cases only) Spanish. If I went to Spain, I think I'd be most interested in just learning the little differences in day to day life. I'd want to experience the apparently strict rules about almuerzo, get to know my host family, and visit the markets. On the other hand, if I went to Japan, I'd probably just want to visit all of the many, many geeky tourist spots and anime and fashion fans haha.

When I was a student I would have answered France, as that's the language (outside of English) that I speak the best, and also the subject of my studies had spent a lot of time there so it would have been appropriate for the work I was pursuing.

These days I'd say China though, since my education taught me almost nothing about that country or its history, and I want to learn more.

What country would you like to go to as an exchange student? Why does that country interest you? What sort of things would you like to do while you were there?

I would like to go Australia, specifically Tasmania because one of my best friends lives there and I really want to meet her!

If I could, I'd stay at her place or at least somewhere near by so we could see each other often. I don't really have any idea what I'd do there 'cos to be honest, I'm not that interested in the country itself but I still think it would be an exciting experience. I would probably want to try all the Australian food my best friend keeps telling me about and see what's interesting in the city.

If I had money I'd enroll in University in Tasmania, not only because of my best friend but also because my wish is to study in another country, but anexchange

I would like to go Australia, specifically Tasmania because one of my best friends lives there and I really want to meet her!

If I could, I'd stay at her place or at least somewhere near by so we could see each other often. I don't really have any idea what I'd do there 'cos to be honest, I'm not that interested in the country itself but I still think it would be an exciting experience. I would probably want to try all the Australian food my best friend keeps telling me about and see what's interesting in the city.

If I had money I'd enrol in University in Tasmania, not only because of my best friend but also because my wish is to study in another country, but an exchange student program would be good too!

where to g would be a very tough call, since there are many places I'd love to visit. As a college student, probably Greece, though. The food is good, the men and women are sexy, and I could explore quite a few other nations via short travel from there. Godbothering in the old Hellenic temples would be tempting, but at the very least good food and drinks would be available, plus plenty of eye candy, both or marble and flesh.